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In the 2004 film "Sideways," poetic winemaker-in-training Maya sets self-important wine-snob Miles straight when asking him why he hasn’t drunk the very expensive bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc Bordeaux he owns.
“What are you waiting for?” she asks.
“I don’t know, a special occasion. With the right person,” he replies.
“The day you open a ’61 Cheval Blanc, that’s the special occasion,” she answers.
LVMH, the owner of the famous vineyard, and developer O&H will be hoping that the new £500M Cheval Blanc hotel they are planning in Mayfair will be worthy of cracking open a couple of cases of the ’61.
Plans were officially lodged this month with Westminster Council for the 130K SF scheme, which will feature 83 rooms, luxury residential units, a bar, a restaurant, a gym and 20K SF of retail, according to CoStar. The retail unit will probably be leased to Celine, also owned by LVMH.
The scheme is on the intersection of Grafton Street, New Bond Street and Bruton Lane, and is designed by Foster + Partners. It will involve the demolition of the existing buildings there.
Cheval Blanc is a vineyard in the Saint-Émilion area of Bordeaux that was set up in 1832, and is one of only four Saint-Émilion producers to receive Bordeaux’s top Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) ranking. LVMH bought the vineyard in 1998 and in the past decade has used the brand to launch a luxury hotel chain with four outposts in the Maldives, Caribbean, French ski town Courchevel and St. Tropez.
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